What can I say. First race of the season. I had not race since October and for some strange reason, it felt like I was new to racing all over again. Well. Next time I should focus and make sure I am in the right head space as I did race like a newbie.
I made 3 mistakes this morning:
Too short of a warm-up-the shorter the race the longer the warm-up. I knew that but yet went too short.
As the gun went off, I realized my left shoe felt loose...well I had to stop and tie it up 1.5k into the race. Yes, I double knotted them. Did I double checked them just before start time-no.
Finally, even though I was lucky enough to have Bjoern and Stephanie on course, I did not push hard enough. An 8k should be heavy breathing the WHOLE race, not parts of it.
For those who have not raced the Steveston Icebreaker, it's an out and back. We had a somewhat strong headwind going out, and a tail/cross wind coming back. Which was awesome.
I am glad (within reason) that I made those mistakes this morning. I can now move on and improve upon it. I am also pleased with the last 3k of the race. When I saw my slow 21:00 at 5K, I knew I was far from a PB but I did managed to nail the last bit. I crossed the line at 32:52, 28 sec off my PB, but wanting more. Usually, after such a race, I would be grumpy, somewhat frustrated and then get grumpier. Sure, I did not have a stellar race this morning, but I know where I can shave seconds and I can't wait to bring it on. For real this time!
